Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Okra, Tart, Sweet and Gravied!

Growing older makes me realise that many things I believed to be true about myself are not so, or are no longer so. Now, this is not the introduction to some ponderous, introspective spiel about myself and my life lessons but this past week, I discovered that I am not as lazy a cook as I thought myself to be.

A vertiginous Spouse confined to home resulted in both of us eating both lunch and dinner at home. All this consumption led to the happy consequence of very few leftovers (which in their limited leftoverness only added to the variety on the table), as a result of which we cooked five days a week. And, I actually enjoyed it - I got to make traditional stuff I haven't in a long while, or traditional stuff that I failed at and gave up on earlier came out well because I paid it some more attention. (Oh, we still got stuff from the takeaway when we felt carnivorous or needed that little bit extra to liven up the day, but most of it was home food, most of which I am so enjoying re-discovering.)

Here's one such dish, the sweet and sour pulusu (tamarind-based gravy), that turned out really well both times I made it, once with plantain and once with ladies finger. It was all about discovering long-lost tastes - my grandmother used to make these often, our cook a little less often and me, rarely.

sra you are in some mood..what a title and yes very exciting to read along..finally we have you cooking non stop..good to know..now when I meet your spouse, should tell him to stay at home frequently for us to atleast see some classics like these...")

We make this very often and not with jaggery ofcourse. Having it over piping hot rice with a papad is simply divine! Yeah if u cook good tasty food there won't be any leftovers and my idea is not to carry over bitter experience to the future too (am talking about not-so-good-food-stored-in-fridge) LOL!

That title was misleading, to say the least. I almost thought I had the wrong blog till I saw your header!This is somewhere in between my kuzhambu and a puli pachadi. I don't mind okra this way at all, no gooey stuuf.:)

Rajitha, yes, I'm always trying 'exciting' food, so the traditional often tend to get left behind.Sreelu, yeah, I keep wishing that myself too!Laavanya, you don't like jaggery, or worried about the calories? It's really a great taste, try a bit.Mallika, no, not your imaginative mind!Katie, my day starts at 5 am, to the gym and back, I like to finish off the cooking as early as possible and take it easy till I go to work. This past week, however, it didn't seem so strenuous.Uma, yeah, arvi, plantain, brinjal, pumpkin, drumsticks, sorakai, any of these things. Sweet potato, too!Siri, wow! Thanks.Veg Platter, try it, it's quite nice.Jayashree, that's one dish I've not attempted so far.Nags, so you have just those four okra dishes on your blog - I seem to have seen quite a few, and quite recently at that!Vij, hi, thanks. Rachel, yes, and time's a luxury.Divya, very traditional indeed!Valli, I didn't cook today because we had a pot of pappucharu to finish!Sig, my stats don't say so, dear! Maybe this is a beginning.Cynic, it's like the ghar ki murgi phenomenon - this is an exception but most of my food looks drab and unappetising and I don't like to eat it myself.Ni, somehow discarding edible food seems bad to me, bad enough that I've wasted lots and thrown it out. I have to learn to cook in smaller quantities, I suppose, but then it will have to be rationed.Raaga, it's great with plantain.Vidya, LOL! Yes to the potluck.Sunita, ;) ;) ThanksAparna, surprised you, did I? Happy cook, glad to have amused you!

Sra, my grandmother would make this often, my mother rarely and me never. Time to try it since I have ladiesfinger at home. Thanks for reminding me of this forgotten classic. Oh, this tastes great with bittergourd too.

Mamatha, really? I would try it but as I'm the only one that eats bittergourd around here, it would stay in my home for days!Rajitha, wondering how to handle that tag ...Tee, so true! That's what I'm discovering, slowly.Cham, :) Even for idli, dosai? Why not?Richa, yeah, brinjal pulusu's another favourite, and thanks.Sia, I remember that jingle!Swati, thanks.Srilekha, thanks. Will visit.Jaya, yeah, he was quite pleased. So was I, but he's back at work now and I'm worried about leftovers again.Paz, do try. Jyothsna, it was just naughty, censors are for worse! :)

Susan, the gravy's the flavour of the moment at my place now, I've made it thrice with three different veggies already!Shreya, bhindi rasam? I've never heard of that, have you posted it? I'll look at your blog.Mandira, thank you, thank you.